Main Event: How Technology Is Taking Center Stage in Event Marketing

Main Event: How Technology Is Taking Center Stage in Event Marketing
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ow Technology Is Taking Center Stage in Event MarketingFood and beverage brands are digging into event marketing technology — and with good reason.

Increasingly seen as a driver of business success, event marketing technology is relied upon to make the in-person and virtual experience more seamless and engaging. Forty-four percent of attendees view technology that makes participating at events easier as vital to the event experience.1

No wonder the global event management software market, valued at $5.6 billion in 2019, is expected to be worth $18.4 billion in 2029.1 What’s more, nearly a quarter of organizations are spending between $10,000 and $50,000 on event tech annually, while 21% are spending between $50,000 and $250,000.1

From Back of House to Front and Center

Technological innovations for use in foodservice operations are staples at industry events. But while exhibits at trade shows often promote automation advances, payment technologies and consumer-operator dynamics, technology is also transforming the exhibits themselves and making the event more immersive, interactive and experiential.

At the 2025 National Restaurant Association Show, the “Kitchenless” activation from Creative Food Solutions, a culinary innovation partner of The Food Group, turned the booth into a showcase of technology that can cut labor and inventory costs without cutting corners and sacrificing quality.

“At the booth, not only were we able to demonstrate how the technology is executed,” said Ben Lee, senior corporate chef for Creative Food Solutions. “It also gave a micro stage for the team to give their elevator pitch on other key components that operators want to hear, such as clean label ingredients, ready in 60 seconds, available now in the U.S., direct purchases B2B and no distributor.”

With event planners prioritizing high-quality experiences and creative concepts to attract attendees, the following key event marketing tech trends are taking center stage.

5 Top Event Marketing Tech Trends

1. Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality: From immersive brand experiences that take attendees on tasting journeys to product demos that educate and entertain, VR and AR experiences transcend exhibit space restrictions and staff limitations.

At Expo West 2025, startup Mighty Smooth showcased how it integrated AR into the packaging for its nutritious yogurt products for children. Scanning the packaging with a smartphone or tablet provided access to AR-based games and educational content about healthy eating.

Coca Cola has boosted brand engagement at events and left a memorable impression on attendees with a VR simulator that combines a virtual roller coaster ride with enjoying a Coke.

2. A Taste for Touch Screens: Touch screen technology also gives attendees a taste of limitless possibilities.

At the National Restaurant Association Show this year, brands cooked up an all-you-can-experience buffet of creative touch screen displays and interactive kiosks.

The Food Group helped Campbell’s Foodservice bowl over attendees with interactive display experiences that enhanced product discovery and engagement, including flavor horoscopes. “It took months of planning to bring it all to fruition,” said TFG Group Account Director Elizabeth Ervin. “The interactive displays added a lot of fun to the exhibit and proved to be a big draw.”

Interactive touch screens also figured prominently at a press event for the launch of Future Menus from TFG partner client Unilever Food Solutions.

“The touch screens were a great way to give attendees a taste of the culinary trends and insights available in the Future Menus report,” said TFG Director of Public Relations Meghan Flynn. “The interactive visual engagement had a wow factor that we knew would generate buzz.”

Did You Know?

50% of marketers report improved ROI from event investments, highlighting the growing value of experiential strategies.2

3. Game On: Game-show style giveaways running throughout the event are an attention-grabbing form of engagement.

Scheduled games on the hour with buzzers, hosted contests and live leaderboards are sure to generate excitement. Gamified prize giveaways like spin-the-wheel contests create booth buzz and recurring visits. Leaderboard-based competitions enable exhibitors to track engagement via QR codes or app check-ins and reward top participants.

At the NRA show, an ongoing live giveaway asked questions and awarded free prizes to the attendees with the winning answers.

At the company’s annual Food Fanatics event, US Foods runs games and interactive contests and offers attendees live entertainment, karaoke and cooking competitions. Designed to engage participants, these incentivizing elements provide memorable experiences and showcase US Foods products in a dynamic setting.

4. Scavenger Hunts: Capture curiosity and create buzz with multi-booth scavenger hunts that encourage attendees to explore the entire expo floor for clues or stamps.

Giving the classic scavenger hunt a high-tech twist with QR codes, AR markers and mobile apps makes unraveling clues and completing challenges more fun and suitable for the digital age. Digital scavenger hunts that use QR code check-ins or GPS tracking amplify the excitement and allow remote attendees to participate.

This year’s Food Safety Summit featured a scavenger hunt as a booth traffic generator. Designed to actively engage attendees and drive them to participating booths, the scavenger hunt was a cost-effective lead generation opportunity for food brands at the event, with participants who opted in to be contacted.

Trade show and conference app platforms like Grandstand provide features for branded in-app scavenger hunts, advertising, sponsored vendor listings and interactive tools tailored for exhibitors.

5. Scratch-Offs: Scratch-off cards can be a fun and effective way to drive booth traffic throughout a trade show.

Campbell’s Foodservice cleverly used this tactic during the Education & Expo portion of this year’s NRA show. In a general session featuring Courtney Storer — culinary producer of The Bear — Campbell’s placed branded scratch-off cards on every seat. Each card invited attendees to visit their booth to redeem a free gift, seamlessly connecting the session experience with their trade show presence.

Digital scratch-off cards are an appealing option to engage today’s tech-oriented and remote attendees with hidden prizes, discounts or special offers that could be revealed by “scratching” on a mobile device, laptop or touch screen.

“All of these digital integrations are great for social virality,” said TFG Social Media Director Hays Formella. “The greater the interactivity, incentivization and engagement, the easier it is to create buzz-worthy content to promote your booth, and the more likely attendees will be to post about it.”

For more insights into the evolution of event marketing, dig into our post “Showstoppers: Maximizing Impact at Marketing Events in an Ever-Evolving Landscape.” For a biweekly buffet of juicy news and info about industry events, trends and marketing, be sure to subscribe to our biweekly newsletter The Front Burner.

1 Noe, Katie, “The Events Industry’s Top Marketing Statistics, Trends, and Data,” Bizzabo, February 11, 2025
2 Major, Lisa, “Experiential and Event Marketing Insights: 20 Statistics You Need to Know in 2025,” ATN Talent Staffing, January 10, 2025

Topics: Marketing & Communications, Social Media, Events, PR, Technology

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